The NBA/China Controversy

[VinBaker6]

What are your thoughts on his? This is a pretty massive story as LeBron and the Lakers will be in China this week.

Read on Twitter

[PD28]

Excited to see how the very progressive NBA handles this issue. Money > Morals?

[nabbs]

The NBA is a business at the end of the day and expecting businesses and corporations to stand up for social justice when it affects their bottom line to the extent that the NBA stood to lose with China cutting them off like this is naive.

It sucks because ball is escapism for a lot of us and the league has brought me great joy in my life with their product despite personal hardships over the years. However, today they drew the line of things they are willing to stand up against and it's a harsh lesson for all of us.

[omar36]

Excited to see how the very progressive NBA handles this issue. Money > Morals?

all that goodwill of being progressive and woke jsut went down the drain. now you got the whole league saying sorry and morey having to put out a fake pr tweet.

the craxy thing about this fiasco is, all he tweeted was a hashtag bout repsecting the protesters. thats all. he ddint bash china or thier dictator. just a simple tweet of solidarity with ppl fighting for their rights and now bc of the power china has, nba is bending over backwards saying its an offensive comment and the league isnt poltical?

like what lmao, lebron/lowry/bunch of other palyers are very crtical of trump. thats fine tho bc A) his supporters prob dont like nba as much B) its hot to atack republicans and prob helsp the bottom line.

now morey somehow indirectly attacks china and they acting like they are strictly basketball? the influence china has over the world is beyond messsed.

China is prob one of the worst countries out there rn. from the concentration camps to organ harvesting to social credit to eliminate any type of criticsm.

so blessed we live in canada

[t54zhao]

Being of Chinese descent，I get why Chinese people are upset by Morey's comments on Hong Kong. I think Joe Tsai's letter where he discussed the third rail nature of the Hong Kong protests in Mainland China is pretty good at describing why people in China feel so strongly. In case you didn't get the letter, it's insecurity about separatism and how the Hong Kong protests and support for those protests trigger that insecurity.

A lot of commentators are talking about how the govt is behind this but I disagree. I just think that a lot of Chinese NBA fans strongly disagree with what Morey said and have decided to vote with their wallets, no government intervention needed. Consequently the NBA and Adam Silver are doing what is necessary to protect their bottom line. That Morey hasn't lost his job in a situation that in other companies might have gotten him booted is pretty tolerant on the NBAs part

[duppyy]

No surprise NBA only cares about money than real morals. Hope people call them out on this.

[Lord_Zedd]

Crazy how money always talks.

NBA wasted no time backing up Enes Kanter with his stance against Turkey, which effectively ended a deal with whoever was managing the NBA Turkey twitter handle.

[The Nutz]

Excited to see how the very progressive NBA handles this issue. Money > Morals?

all that goodwill of being progressive and woke jsut went down the drain. now you got the whole league saying sorry and morey having to put out a fake pr tweet.

the craxy thing about this fiasco is, all he tweeted was a hashtag bout repsecting the protesters. thats all. he ddint bash china or thier dictator. just a simple tweet of solidarity with ppl fighting for their rights and now bc of the power china has, nba is bending over backwards saying its an offensive comment and the league isnt poltical?

like what lmao, lebron/lowry/bunch of other palyers are very crtical of trump. thats fine tho bc A) his supporters prob dont like nba as much B) its hot to atack republicans and prob helsp the bottom line.

now morey somehow indirectly attacks china and they acting like they are strictly basketball? the influence china has over the world is beyond messsed.

China is prob one of the worst countries out there rn. from the concentration camps to organ harvesting to social credit to eliminate any type of criticsm.

so blessed we live in canada

I haven't read or heard this anywhere? Where has the NBA said that it was offensive?

For reference, here is their statement:

NBA statement

Official Release | October 6, 2019

NEW YORK – NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass released the following statement:
“We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable. While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals’ educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them. We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.”
Related Posts
NBA Board of Governors approves sale of Nets to Joe Tsai
NBA statement regarding Warriors

[kalel123]

The whole NBA is just hypocrites. Personally, doesn't impact how I spend/invest my time and money on the products but it is disappointing.

That's what I got out of this.

My advice: don't pretend to be something you are not.

[2019nbachamps]

Nba shows once again they care about money over principles. Morey did nothing wrong but he did exercise poor judgement.

NBA did the same with the Sterling affair. Punished him after realizing how much money was at stake.

[Tanner]

LeWoke James and the NBA as a whole are completely disingenuous with their stances on social issues. It's all noise. Money is what everyone is in the game for, and I don't blame them.

[VinBaker6]

Being of Chinese descent，I get why Chinese people are upset by Morey's comments on Hong Kong. I think Joe Tsai's letter where he discussed the third rail nature of the Hong Kong protests in Mainland China is pretty good at describing why people in China feel so strongly I.e. insecurity about separatism and how the Hong Kong protests and support for those protests trigger that insecurity.

A lot of commentators are talking about how the govt is behind this but I disagree. I just think that a lot of Chinese NBA fans strongly disagree with what Morey said and have decided to vote with their wallets, no government intervention needed. Consequently the NBA and Adam Silver are doing what is necessary to protect their bottom line. That Morey hasn't lost his job in a situation that in other companies might have gotten him booted is pretty tolerant on the NBAs part

What are your thoughts on the genocide of the Uighurs?

[Zeno]

Not because I support China in any of this but Morey is truly lucky that he isn’t fired. This is business. Unnecessarily jeopardizing billions of dollars in business by making political comments is beyond dumb. He’s really **** the NBA.

[Zeno]

LeWoke James and the NBA as a whole are completely disingenuous with their stances on social issues. It's all noise. Money is what everyone is in the game for, and I don't blame them.

I just don’t agree with this line of thinking. Just because someone isn’t willing to throw away millions/billions of dollars doesn’t mean that they are disingenuous about their beliefs. You can believe in things without going full kaepernick on it.

[t54zhao]

Being of Chinese descent，I get why Chinese people are upset by Morey's comments on Hong Kong. I think Joe Tsai's letter where he discussed the third rail nature of the Hong Kong protests in Mainland China is pretty good at describing why people in China feel so strongly I.e. insecurity about separatism and how the Hong Kong protests and support for those protests trigger that insecurity.

A lot of commentators are talking about how the govt is behind this but I disagree. I just think that a lot of Chinese NBA fans strongly disagree with what Morey said and have decided to vote with their wallets, no government intervention needed. Consequently the NBA and Adam Silver are doing what is necessary to protect their bottom line. That Morey hasn't lost his job in a situation that in other companies might have gotten him booted is pretty tolerant on the NBAs part

What are your thoughts on the genocide of the Uighurs?

1. Thats a separate issue from Hong Kong and the protests there.

2. The difference in reporting on this issue means that there is an assymetry in how we view this issue and what we think is happening there.

3. Differences in moral outlook will also affect how we view this issue.

With those in mind, in my opinion, I don't think that China is genociding Uyghurs in Xinjiang. I do think that a broad cultural assimilation and reeducation initiative alongside a general police crackdown is happening there. This was done in response to rising ethnic and separatist tensions in the area. How you view these actions is then based on your moral framework/ cultural upbringing.

[nabbs]

Excited to see how the very progressive NBA handles this issue. Money > Morals?

all that goodwill of being progressive and woke jsut went down the drain. now you got the whole league saying sorry and morey having to put out a fake pr tweet.

the craxy thing about this fiasco is, all he tweeted was a hashtag bout repsecting the protesters. thats all. he ddint bash china or thier dictator. just a simple tweet of solidarity with ppl fighting for their rights and now bc of the power china has, nba is bending over backwards saying its an offensive comment and the league isnt poltical?

like what lmao, lebron/lowry/bunch of other palyers are very crtical of trump. thats fine tho bc A) his supporters prob dont like nba as much B) its hot to atack republicans and prob helsp the bottom line.

now morey somehow indirectly attacks china and they acting like they are strictly basketball? the influence china has over the world is beyond messsed.

China is prob one of the worst countries out there rn. from the concentration camps to organ harvesting to social credit to eliminate any type of criticsm.

so blessed we live in canada

I haven't read or heard this anywhere? Where has the NBA said that it was offensive?

For reference, here is their statement:

NBA statement

Official Release | October 6, 2019

NEW YORK – NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass released the following statement:
“We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable. While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals’ educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them. We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.”
Related Posts
NBA Board of Governors approves sale of Nets to Joe Tsai
NBA statement regarding Warriors

The NBA released a Chinese version of the press release written in their native language and apparently, the choice of wording is different in the sense that it was offensive as opposed to the more neutral wording the English version of the press release takes.

[vbmeer]

Celebrities virtue signalling is part of building your brand. Part of the business when creating a star and maintaining a star is to do a risk/reward assessment with every decision made, thus when the reward side outweighs the risk side it's to the entity's best interests to do so.

Philanthropy is the future and present of marketing, it's the way brands win.

[Darknemo2000]

Being of Chinese descent，I get why Chinese people are upset by Morey's comments on Hong Kong. I think Joe Tsai's letter where he discussed the third rail nature of the Hong Kong protests in Mainland China is pretty good at describing why people in China feel so strongly. In case you didn't get the letter, it's insecurity about separatism and how the Hong Kong protests and support for those protests trigger that insecurity.

A lot of commentators are talking about how the govt is behind this but I disagree. I just think that a lot of Chinese NBA fans strongly disagree with what Morey said and have decided to vote with their wallets, no government intervention needed. Consequently the NBA and Adam Silver are doing what is necessary to protect their bottom line. That Morey hasn't lost his job in a situation that in other companies might have gotten him booted is pretty tolerant on the NBAs part

Of course there is no gov needed when you have your brains washed with all sorts of propaganda. Why do you think so many programs are blocked in China? Free information access goes against brain washing. Need to control that.

Do you know that many people bought in Stalin's or Hitlers regimes? Why? Because of the good old brainwashing. In fact Political Correctness was the term invented by Stalin to mark censorship.

And when you brainwash people they will go protect what they consider their identity without govt needing direct input. Same in North Korea or in China.

But make no mistake China is a single party dictatorship and pretty brutal at that.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Excited to see how the very progressive NBA handles this issue. Money > Morals?

all that goodwill of being progressive and woke jsut went down the drain. now you got the whole league saying sorry and morey having to put out a fake pr tweet.

the craxy thing about this fiasco is, all he tweeted was a hashtag bout repsecting the protesters. thats all. he ddint bash china or thier dictator. just a simple tweet of solidarity with ppl fighting for their rights and now bc of the power china has, nba is bending over backwards saying its an offensive comment and the league isnt poltical?

like what lmao, lebron/lowry/bunch of other palyers are very crtical of trump. thats fine tho bc A) his supporters prob dont like nba as much B) its hot to atack republicans and prob helsp the bottom line.

now morey somehow indirectly attacks china and they acting like they are strictly basketball? the influence china has over the world is beyond messsed.

China is prob one of the worst countries out there rn. from the concentration camps to organ harvesting to social credit to eliminate any type of criticsm.

so blessed we live in canada

I haven't read or heard this anywhere? Where has the NBA said that it was offensive?

For reference, here is their statement:
[i]
NBA statement

Official Release | October 6, 2019

NEW YORK – NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass released the following statement:
“We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable. While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals’ educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them. We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.”

It's a carefully worded non-statement. They support Morey speaking out, is all you need to know.

I'm sensing a lot of faux outrage over this. The NBA (and Daryl Morey, for that matter) have courted Chinese money long before these events in Hong Kong. This could have been an open thread for years if people were really that upset that the NBA had business interests in China. As a major sports entity, they're far more progressive than their peers and Silver has a lot to do with that.

[daswunderboy]

Being of Chinese descent，I get why Chinese people are upset by Morey's comments on Hong Kong. I think Joe Tsai's letter where he discussed the third rail nature of the Hong Kong protests in Mainland China is pretty good at describing why people in China feel so strongly. In case you didn't get the letter, it's insecurity about separatism and how the Hong Kong protests and support for those protests trigger that insecurity.

A lot of commentators are talking about how the govt is behind this but I disagree. I just think that a lot of Chinese NBA fans strongly disagree with what Morey said and have decided to vote with their wallets, no government intervention needed. Consequently the NBA and Adam Silver are doing what is necessary to protect their bottom line. That Morey hasn't lost his job in a situation that in other companies might have gotten him booted is pretty tolerant on the NBAs part

I can somewhat see this side, but I wonder if it would be the same reaction if say, Morey made a comment about the concentration camps for Uighur Muslims in the north...